US is World's Most Competitive Economy for First Time in a Decade (wsj.com)

schwit1 shares a report: The U.S. is back on top as the most competitive country in the world, regaining the No. 1 spot for the first time since 2008 in an index produced by the World Economic Forum [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source], which said the country could still do better on social issues. America climbed one place in the rankings of 140 countries, with the top five rounded out by Singapore, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. All five countries' scores rose from 2017, with the U.S. notching the second-biggest gain after Japan's. [...] The Global Competitiveness Report this year assessed 140 countries on 98 indicators that measure business investment and productivity. The indicators are organized into 12 main drivers of productivity including the nations' institutions, tech savvy, infrastructure, education systems, market size and innovation.

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Re:Job creator in office = #MAGA

[pjrc]

If we enter a recession within the next 2 or 6 years, and especially if Obama-era stimulus isn't feasible due to already low interest rates and increased debt & deficits, will you assign any of the blame to Trump?

I'm guessing it'll all be democrats fault, even if they control only the house and can't pass legislation. Even if Republicans manage to hold onto the house and senate next month, will you somehow still try to assign the blame for any downturn to wild conspiracy theories involving Hillary Clinton?

If this current ~3% annual growth, which began back in mid-2009 during Obama's first term, continues with interruption for 6 more years, then Trump will indeed deserve substantial credit, regardless of how distasteful his personality and how childish his Twitter rants may be.

But at this moment, when the USA is most able to pay down its massive accumulated debt and put itself on a financially sound course, Trump and republicans (who repeatedly called for a balanced budget when democrats held power) are racking up huge deficits that are just piling on more debt. They're deregulating the financial sector, which has allowed massive buildup of consumer and student debt. Massive consumer debt, overly leveraged by the deregulated financial "industry" is what caused the great recession 10 years ago (near the end of Bush's tenure). Collectively we all should have learned a lesson, but sadly it seems we didn't.